Mission Impossible: Poms’ 80-year reality check

AUSTRALIA has the chance to wrap up the Ashes at the WACA Ground in Perth in the third Test starting Thursday (1:30pm AEDT).

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THE PREVIEW

THIS is the extraordinary challenge facing England's disastrous Ashes campaign.

In 140 years of Ashes contests, only once has a team climbed the mountain England is at the bottom of: a 2-0 deficit.

And that mob, the 1936-7 Australian team, had a bloke called Bradman who steered them to a famous 3-2 series win. And it took two double-centuries and a big ton from the Don to save the day for the hosts.

England had Australia on the ropes two matches into the series, battering Bradman's side by 322 runs at the Gabba before winning by an innings and 22 runs at the SCG.

Crucially for Gubby Allen's side they had kept Bradman quiet up to that point, with the great man registering consecutive ducks in the second innings at the Gabba and first in Sydney.

Bradman went on to post scores of 270, 212 and 169 in the final three matches as Australia roared home to win 3-2. He finished the series with 810 runs at an average of 90 - sub-par by his standards.

Joe Root needs to channel his inner Don Bradman.

No one in the current England squad looks like pulling off anything like that and even if they could it might not be enough.

Alongside Bradman's nigh unfathomable feat, it took help from above to open the door for Australia.

The game's greatest ever batsman made the bold call of declaring Australia's first innings at 9-200 in the first innings - a rare move in a timeless Test. With rain delaying play on day two, Bradman sent England in to bat on a pitch that was suddenly playing tricks. A pitch so devilish the touring side opted to declare at 9-76.

Bradman in turn majorly rejigged his batting order, dropping himself to No.7 and swapping regular openers Jack Fingleton and Bill Brown with tailenders Bill O'Reilly and Chuck Fleetwood-Smith. It worked perfectly, with Bradman (270) and Fingleton (136) carrying Australia to a total of 564 after pitch dried up. The Australians went on to win by 365 runs and rode that momentum home to a 3-2 win.

Nowadays pitches are covered so no matter what the weather does in Perth, such a Test is unlikely to save England this time around.

Australia look set to make one big change to the XI that won the first two Tests comfortably, with Mitchell Marsh tipped to replace the out-of-sorts Peter Handscomb.

Handscomb can consider himself unlucky if he gets axed. It was only three Tests ago that he played a match-winning innings in Chittagong. Three middling innings (14, 36, 12) this series hardly feels like enough of a reason to drop a man with a Test average of 47.35.

Smith hinted Australia was leaning towards the all-rounder on match eve, with conditions dictating the need for a fifth bowling option.